Another Wellington bottle store has been struck by ramraiders – this time directly in front of a security guard.
Social media posts show the Thirsty Liquor store on The Parade Island Bay was broken into about 2am on Tuesday morning.
Police have confirmed a vehicle was used to break into a building in the southern Wellington suburb.
Two people took alcohol from the store – in the centre of the suburb’s shopping area – then fled in vehicle, the police statement said.
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Bottle store owner Chetan Rattan said a security guard was driving past the store when the Subaru hatchback hit.
“They did it right in front of him. They are not even scared of anyone.”
The security guard tried to stop the car from leaving but the driver and passenger managed to escape, Rattan said.
He estimated they got away with $3000 to $5000 worth of alcohol. Security camera footage shows the first offender going directly to the back of the store.
The Thirsty Liquor bottle store in Wellington’s Island Bay was ramraided early on Tuesday morning.
“They went straight for the bourbon. It looked like they had probably been here as customers before.”
It comes about a fortnight after The Cellar Room bottle store in the nearby suburb of Brooklyn was also ramraided. That also involved two people who took alcohol before fleeing.
“I was actually expecting this because of the one in Brooklyn,” Rattan said. “So I knew this was on the way.”
Taiki Kondo, who lives across from the Island Bay shops, said he heard the incident shortly before 2am.
KEVIN STENT/Stuff
Thirsty Liquor Island Bay owner Chetan Rattan cleans up inside his ramraided store. A car bumper is in the foreground.
“I was almost sleeping. I heard three-times smashing. The security guy stopped and asked, ‘what are you guys doing’, and they backed out and took off.”
It comes amid a spate of recent ramraids, with two reported at the Huntly Bottle-O bottle store in less than a month. In April police got social media platform TikTok to remove the ramraid video from the platform.
A police report released through the Official Information Act said there were 283 ramraids nationally between November 2020 and October 2021.
The report, by the national intelligence centre in January, said the most were committed in July 2021, with 27% in Waikato, followed by Bay of Plenty at 19% and Auckland City 16%.
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